Critical CARICOM heads meeting happening today

CARICOM Heads of government are holding their Thirty-Sixth Inter-Sessional meeting virtually today to make important decisions on two critical issues.

The first issue concerns the ongoing instability in Haiti, and the second concerns the decision on freedom of movement within the community.

The meeting is being chaired by Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government.

A delegation of four members from Antigua and Barbuda, led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, will participate in the virtual meeting.

The other members of the delegation include Foreign Affairs Minister E.P Chet Greene, CARICOM Ambassador Dr. Clarence Henry, and Senior Foreign Service Officer Kurt Williams.

According to Dr. Henry, the meeting is of utmost importance for the Community, as the heads are expected to discuss a report prepared by the Inter-Governmental Task Force and reviewed by the Legal Affairs Committee on the implementation of the decision of the Conference to work towards free movement of all community nationals.

This issue has been one of the most topical subjects that came out of this month’s 46th Conference of the Heads of Government, where Antigua and Barbuda indicated that it will maintain the current Skills Certificate regime and delay the implementation of the full freedom of movement.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has stated that the country is unable to make that move at this time as it would cause undue strain on social systems such as healthcare and education.

The other critical issue to be discussed is a report on finding lasting solutions to the Haitian crisis.

This week, CARICOM Heads, meeting under the chairmanship of Dr. Ali, were able to get the Haitian Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry to resign, paving the way for setting up an interim National Council.

The meeting will also hear an update on the preparations to host the World Cup T20 matches in six Caribbean territories.

It is essential for the CARICOM Heads of government to make the right decisions on these critical issues to ensure the stability and progress of the Community.